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GOVERNMENT IN
TH
AMERICA; 15
EDITION
CHAPTER 7
The Mass Media and the Political
Agenda
The Mass Media Today
 Media Event – set up in order to be covered
 Example – candidate campaigning door to door
 60% of campaign spending for Presidents is spent on tv
advertisements
 Especially in swing states
 Most of the ads are negative towards the opponent
 Image of candidates is of the utmost importance
The Development of Media
Politics
 Franklin Roosevelt changed the relationship between
presidents and the media
 2 press conferences a week
 Press did not reveal he was disabled
 Vietnam and Watergate changed Presidential press reporting
 A president’s personal life became fair game
 Clinton-Lewinsky scandal
 Investigative journalism – reporters investigating the truth of
government officials
 Since 1960, coverage of presidents has become less favorable
 2 types of media
 Print – newspapers and magazines (less popular)
 Electronic – TV and Internet (more popular)
The Development of Media
Politics Cont.
 The Print Media:
 1st amendment is instrumental in the media today
 Citizens that read newspapers are better informed
 Circulation of print media has declined in recent years
 The Emergence of Radio and Television:
 Radio ownership is nearly universal
 Impact of TV on politics?
 1960 election
 Coverage of Vietnam
 Government Regulation of Electronic Media:
 Federal Communications Commission (FCC) – regulates TV, radio,
phones, satellites, and cable
The Development of Media
Politics Cont.
 From Broadcasting to Narrowcasting….:
 Broadcasting – signal is sent to a broad audience (ABC, NBC, CBS)
 Narrowcasting – sent to a smaller audience (MTV, ESPN, cable news)
 Many young adults are more engaged in narrowcasting
 The Impact of the Internet:
 Availability of information does not translate to acquisition of
information
 Blogs have increased the influence of average citizens
 Private Control of the Media:
 Many countries have government-owned news stations (BBC)
 Public ownership has its benefits – news is not reliant on advertisers
Reporting the News
 News is reported when it is different
 President Bush in Japan in 1992
 Many networks choose to air what is entertaining
 Finding the News:
 Trial balloons – purposely leaking information to the public to test
the political reaction
 Embedding of reporters – in order to increase access to war
coverage, reporters were embedded with troops
 Sources wanting to expose the truth are rare, but do happen –
“Deep Throat” in the Watergate Scandal
Reporting the News
 Presenting the News:
 Most news coverage is superficial and lacks substance
 More technology has not meant more coverage, rather the
opposite is true
 More likely to see sound bites of a speech than the speech itself
 1992 – 24.6 minutes per night of the presidential campaign, 2000
– 12.6 minutes per night
 Bias in the News:
 Bias – advocating a certain perspective
 Mainstream media is often accused of being liberal
The News and Public Opinion
 The media can (and does) influence how the public views
politicians:
 Choose the stories and can increase attention to certain problems
 Focusing on unemployment vs. low inflation (1992)
 If a politician misstates something, the Media can focus heavily
on that
Policy Entrepreneurs and Agenda Setting
 Policy Agenda:
 Set of issues that politicians and others deem important and
focus on (healthcare, Middle East, etc.)
 This is fluid and can (and does) often change based on circumstances
 Policy entrepreneurs – people that bring attention to an issue via
 Use press releases, conferences, and letter writing to bring attention
to their cause
Understanding Mass Media
 The Media and the Scope of Government:
 Americans view positively the media keeping politicians in check
 The media’s “watchdog philosophy” can increase the size of
government by encouraging the government to solve problems
 Individualism and the Media:
 The media focuses on individuals more than groups
 A politician’s image is more important than ever – especially the
President
 Democracy and the Media:
 Access to information does not equate to an informed society
 Those that access information are more likely to vote and help
dictate policy
Quick Recap
 Media Event
 TV’s impact on politics – 1960 election
 More access does not equate to more knowledge
 Bias
 Politician’s image
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